


will you share your soul with me?

by narcissacronin



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, One-Shot, Post-Canon, Slight Hurt/Comfort, anyway i'm back w more non-binary cass propaganda even if it is only a small detail in this, references to rapunzel and the lost lagoon, though it's not required reading to understand this, title from human by dodie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 10:09:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28469571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narcissacronin/pseuds/narcissacronin
Summary: “What if,” she began, her voice lowered to a whisper, “what if we snuck out? It could be just like old times.” Rapunzel paused for a second, then released a strained laugh. “Or, on second thought, maybe notexactlylike old times...”Cass let out a sharp laugh and stood up. With a flourish of her arm, she bowed to Rapunzel and said in a sarcastic tone, “Where to, m’lady?”Rapunzel laughed again—a true laugh this time—and Cass’ heart swelled. It was a sound she hadn’t heard in ages, and Cass didn’t realize just how much she’d been missing it until now.“It’s been so long since we last visited the lagoon,” Rapunzel said.or, rapunzel and cass revisit the lost lagoon
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	will you share your soul with me?

Cassandra paced silently through her room, counting each step. Once she reached ten, she’d turn on her heel and retrace her previous steps until she counted ten again. She’d do this over and over again, repeating the steps until she either bored or tired herself out enough in order to at least get _some_ rest. It had been her routine for almost every night since the battle. Although nearly three weeks had come to pass since the defeat of Zhan Tiri, Cass still hadn’t quite adjusted to life back at the castle.

Tonight, just like most other nights, proved to be no exception to her insomnia. Even though her body was exhausted and practically begging for rest, she just _couldn’t_ fall asleep, and what little sleep she did have was restless, usually plagued with nightmares. For months the Moonstone had been her sole source of energy, and now trying to get back to a normal schedule—a _healthy_ schedule—was proving to be difficult. While it was nice to be eating actual food again, resting had shown itself to be far harder than it ought to have been. And it certainly wasn’t helped by Cass’ inability to stay still for long, a sort of itching to get out and help in some way. Though she knew, for Rapunzel often liked to remind her, that she wouldn’t be of much use when she was this exhausted, there was just so much to do out there and being cooped up like this made her feel as though the castle walls were closing in on her.

Cass was just about to reach ten when a quiet knock sounded at her door. She froze, head spinning as a thousand different scenarios filled her mind. Momentarily hesitating, she carefully moved towards the door and cracked it open just wide enough to catch sight of whoever stood on the other side.

Relief, coupled with an ounce of surprise, flooded through Cass’ body when her eyes caught a glimpse of Rapunzel’s short, brown hair. Cass pulled the door open farther and allowed a small smile to cross her lips.

“Can’t sleep either?” Cass asked, gesturing for Rapunzel to step inside.

“Sort of,” Rapunzel responded, sighing, as she stepped into the room, “I had a nightmare earlier and haven’t been able to fall back asleep since. I...I figured you might still be up. I hope I’m not interrupting you or anything.”

“No, no, you’re fine,” Cass said. She moved around to the side of her bed and lit the candle sitting on her nightstand. “I was wide awake before you came.” She took a seat at the end of her bed, legs crossed in front of her.

Relief washed over Rapunzel’s features and she silently shut the door, moving to sit down next to Cass. One of her hands rested in the space between them and Cass found herself tempted to reach for it but refrained. Instead, she folded her hands in her lap and forced her gaze over to where the candle still sat on her nightstand.

A stretch of almost awkward silence lingered between them before Rapunzel finally spoke.

“What if,” she began, her voice lowered to a whisper, “what if we snuck out? It could be just like old times.” Rapunzel paused for a second, then released a strained laugh. “Or, on second thought, maybe not _exactly_ like old times...”

Cass let out a sharp laugh and stood up. With a flourish of her arm, she bowed to Rapunzel and said in a sarcastic tone, “Where to, m’lady?”

Rapunzel laughed again—a true laugh this time—and Cass’ heart swelled. It was a sound she hadn’t heard in ages, and Cass didn’t realize just how much she’d been missing it until now.

“It’s been so long since we last visited the lagoon,” Rapunzel said. “And I thought maybe it’d be nice to get out there again. To just swim and forget about our troubles, even if it is only for an hour or two.”

“That sounds nice, actually,” Cass replied. “I think that’s exactly the kind of thing I need to clear my thoughts.”

Rapunzel nodded and offered her a sympathetic smile.

A few seconds later, Rapunzel retreated from Cass’ room to get ready, promising to return in a few minutes and from there they could walk to the tunnels together.

Cass quickly changed, simply throwing an old tunic over her shift and pulling on a pair of plain pants, followed by her boots. After a short moment of hesitation, she reached for the knife under her mattress and tucked it into one of her boots. While she doubted she’d end up needing it, she’d rather be on the safe side. For a short moment she considered putting her corset on under her tunic, too, but decided against it, knowing it'd be a nightmare to put back on over her wet shift. The corset was closer to that of a men’s corset than the typical women’s and it gave her chest a flatter appearance, helping to give her more of an androgynous look. But since she was just going to be with Rapunzel, Cass didn’t feel the need or want to wear it like she would going into town or just generally being around lots of people. Lastly, she reached for the pair of gloves resting on her dresser and carefully pulled them on.

After extinguishing the candle, she slipped out of her room and waited in the hallway. Barely a minute had passed when Rapunzel joined her, carrying a lantern. . They kept their steps light as they crept through the hallways, careful to avoid areas where the guards were patrolling.

Rapunzel stepped into the tunnel first and took a few steps forward before holding her hand out to Cass. Cass accepted it and followed close behind, holding onto Rapunzel’s hand the entire time. A conspiratorial smile passed between them once they were outside the castle’s walls, and they paused shortly to take in the night sky before continuing on.

Their journey mostly passed in silence, but Cass was all too aware of how Rapunzel was still holding onto her hand.

A wave of nostalgia washed over Cass as they veered closer to the Lost Lagoon. She could still recall almost exactly how to get there, knowing the path practically by heart. Crossing the chasm proved to be a little more difficult than Cass remembered, seeing as Rapunzel could no longer swing them both across with her hair and Cass was still technically recovering from the battle, yet they managed to reach the other side wholly intact.

Once they were back on solid ground, their pace quickened. Rapunzel, who was a few feet ahead of Cass, gasped then quickly turned around to face Cass, her eyes alight with wonder. Cass hurried to catch up with Rapunzel, a small gasp escaping her own lips when she caught sight of the lagoon. It was just as breathtaking as Cass remembered it, if not even more so. Though it didn’t appear to have changed much since her last visit there was something about being back, there with Rapunzel at her side that made it feel all the more magical.

As if working on instinct, Cass shifted closer to Rapunzel and reached for her hand. Rapunzel squeezed her hand and briefly rested her head against Cass’ shoulder.

They stayed like that for a few seconds before Rapunzel pulled away, moving to stand off to the side. She stripped down to just her bloomers and shift, leaving her dress in a messy pile on the ground. Cass did the same, though she hesitated when it came to taking off her gloves. Back in her room she’d been caught too off-guard by Rapunzel’s sudden presence at her door to think too much about being caught gloveless, but now the idea seemed daunting.

With a sigh, she dashed a glance at Rapunzel, then tried her damndest to push down those feelings, reasoning that it was likely too dark for it to matter anyway. Before she could change her mind, though, she pulled off her gloves and left them on top of the pile of her other clothes. Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned to face the water.

Rapunzel had already started wading in and when she caught Cass staring at her, she raised one arm and beckoned her closer. Swallowing her anxiety, Cass approached the water. She took a different approach from Rapunzel’s and instead chose to sit on the edge of the shore, only dipping her legs into the water.

Rapunzel swam over to where Cass was sitting. She rested one of her arms on Cass’ knees and stared up at her with a slight smile on her lips. 

“Come on, Cass,” Rapunzel began, her voice light, “the water’s not so bad once you get used to it.” Based on Raps’ expression alone Cass found it hard to say no.

Rolling her eyes, Cass laughed and said, “Fine, I’ll join you.”

Rapunzel backed away, giving Cass some space, and Cass slipped into the water. It was cool at first, almost too cool, though Rapunzel was unsurprisingly right; the water didn’t feel so bad once she was acclimated to it.

Cass treaded the water for a little while, still adjusting to it, while Rapunzel looked around at their surroundings with wide-eyes. A stray piece of hair had fallen into her face, although Rapunzel didn’t seem to notice. Before Cass could think better of it, she reached forward and tucked the strand behind Rapunzel’s ear, receiving one of her sweet smiles as reward.

Cass’ heart nearly stopped as Rapunzel slowly shifted towards her, leaving only a few mere inches between them. Rapunzel wrapped her arms around Cass’ neck and leaned her head forward, lips parted slightly. A mix of panic and hope swelled inside Cass, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She plastered a smile to her lips, hoping to conceal her rising panic from view.

“Do you remember the first time we were out here?” Rapunzel asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Cass nodded, a grin tugging at her lips. “How could I forget?” she returned as her hands moved to rest on Rapunzel’s waist. With each passing second her worry began to weather down, and eventually reached a point where it was practically non-existent anymore.

“So much has changed since then,” Rapunzel said, her eyes slipping shut as she pressed her forehead against Cass’.

Cass hummed in response, a comfortable silence falling upon them. There was almost something calming about it, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves in the trees above and the gentle lapping of water on the shoreline bringing a sense of peace to Cass.

“You know,” Rapunzel began, carefully drawing out each word, “when we first came here I still wasn’t quite sure what to think. Everything was all so new to me and I still had so much to learn, and then there was _you_. You were so strong and brave and handsome, and you caused me so much confusion—at least in regards to my emotions. There were so many times where I struggled to tell my more romantic feelings for you from platonic ones, and it wasn’t until I talked with Eugene about it that I actually began to realize it.” Rapunzel paused for a brief moment, eyes searching Cass’ expression. “And, Cass, I... I still care for you in that way. If anything, my feelings for you are stronger now than they were before.”

Cass sucked in a quick breath, thoughts racing in her mind at a mile a minute. A blush stained her cheeks as she struggled to find her words.

“I...” Cass started, the word quickly falling off her tongue. “I care for you like that, too. Although I will admit back then my feelings for you were more of a source of dread than anything because I couldn’t see it ending in any other way than in heartbreak for me, but I’m beginning to realize just how wrong I was then, and I am so glad about it. Now...my feelings for you are more of a source of hope, stronger now than they were back then and proof that it does get better.”

Rapunzel grinned at her as she slowly pulled away, swimming farther into the lagoon with a slight twinkle in her eyes. Cass followed close behind her.

“I keep returning to those vows that we made, and our short talk of how we have our own destinies to find,” Rapunzel said. “And while I know ‘destiny’ is a bit of a tough subject right now, I believe we were right.” Rapunzel released a laugh, though it was strained. “Cass, I know you’ve mentioned you want to get out of Corona to explore other places,”—she reached for Cass’ hands and gripped them carefully in her own—“but please know I’ll be here if you ever need me for any reason. And no matter how we end up, that will never change.”

“Thank you, Raps, it means a lot,” Cass replied. “I’ll be sure to remember that.”

“Of course,” Rapunzel murmured, though there was a sort of distant look in her eyes that Cass couldn’t place. “It’s the least I could do for you.”

A short moment of silence passed between them and they resumed swimming around the lagoon. Their laughter filled the air, ringing out loud and sweet. Cass’ chest was bubbling over with joy and she couldn’t quite recall a time when she’d last felt this careless and free, especially around Rapunzel.

But it didn’t take long for that moment to shatter.

At some point, they abandoned the water to sit on a little ledge that hung over the lagoon. Their legs dangled off the edge of it, feet dipping into the water.

Rapunzel reached for Cass’ hand, but stilled, her laughter dying. The moonlight had caught her hand and allowed just enough light for someone to make out the somewhat faint scars.

Even though Cass’ hand looked nothing like it had in those days following the events at the Great Tree, it was still obvious enough that she had been burned. Although Cass was growing to think of the scars as more of a reminder of how far things had come since then and all that was yet to come, she feared the memories it might bring back for Rapunzel.

They’d barely talked at all about what had happened, though Cass knew they could only ignore it for so long. While Cass found this to be unusual seeing as Rapunzel typically liked to deal with her problems head-on, Cass didn’t want to push it either, knowing sometimes it could take Rapunzel a little longer to come around on things that were really cutting into her.

Cass tried to pull away, but even though Rapunzel’s grip was gentle, she didn’t let go.

“I’m sorry,” Rapunzel said, her voice cracking on the last word.

“It’s water under the bridge, you don’t—” Cass started to say, only for Rapunzel to cut off her words.

“No, really, I’m sorry. Sorry not just for your hand, but everything else that happened, too. I should’ve made more of an effort to listen to you and trusted your judgement.” She lifted Cass’ hand to her lips and placed a light kiss on her knuckles. “The past is the past, but if there’s anything I can to make it up for you now please tell me.”

Cass nodded, nearly saying _“It’s okay,”_ before stopping herself. “Thank you for apologizing, I really appreciate it,” she said instead. “But I should apologize, too.”

Rapunzel started to speak but Cassandra gave a quick shake of her head.

“I put you and everyone else through so much, and I don’t really even know where to begin. Zhan Tiri fucked with my mind, twisting and manipulating my every thought to make me think I was doing the right thing, well, the right thing for _me_ at least, but looking back on it now I don’t understand how I didn’t see what was happening sooner. And... I’m sorry. So, _so_ sorry.” Tears slipped down Cass’ cheeks though she didn’t bother brushing them away. “Even though my actions were influenced immensely by Zhan Tiri, that doesn’t change much either. _I_ was still the one who did those things and _I_ was still the one that caused so much of this hurt. Most of my actions were fueled by a selfish desire that not only ended up hurting others but myself, too, and I’m still suffering for it.” Shaking her head, she took in a deep breath. “I just hope that everyone will see I’ve changed since then, that that was never truly me.”

“Cass...” Rapunzel set one of her hands on Cass’ shoulders and leaned towards her. “Cass, you were manipulated, and even if you had noticed sooner I can’t imagine it would’ve been easy to stop Zhan Tiri. And we can work through this together, alright? Even if it takes a while for some people to come around, I know that there is far more to you than your past actions. Besides, I think some are already warming up to you again. Just the other day I heard someone comment on how grateful they were for your help with reconstruction in town.” Rapunzel tilted her head to the side, as if considering something, then said, “And if it means anything, I really care about you, Cass, and I and I wish everyone could see you as the same person that I do.”

Cass smiled and, before she could think better of it, kissed Rapunzel. Though it lasted for just a split second, the simple touch was enough to make Cass’ nerves feel as though they had been lit ablaze. Rapunzel smiled, a sweet look in her eye. Cass felt her heartbeat quicken, but before anything else could happen, she pulled away the slightest bit and averted her gaze.

“After one of our fights,” Cass started, desperate for a change of subject, “I remember coming back here. _Why_ I can’t quite explain, but it almost felt like there was some sort of invisible force drawing me towards it. And...and I guess a small part of me was hoping to find you here, too. It felt like a safe haven and I had this feeling that even if we weren’t on the best of terms, that wouldn’t matter so long as we were _here_. Saying that now, it feels a little silly, but I truly believed it.” Cass paused and briefly met Rapunzel’s gaze, before turning her focus back to the water and its gentle waves. “My memory of that night is kinda fuzzy, but I do remember sitting there in silence for a while and drowning myself in nostalgia, thinking back to a time when things weren’t so rocky between us. I remember wishing I could go back in time and change things between us—wishing we could be together someway somehow and back on good terms, another small part of me wishing we had never met, or at least under different circumstances.” Cass paused and quickly shook her head. “But nevermind that, so far everything seems to be working out on its own.”

“I thought about coming here, too, at some point,” Rapunzel said, thoughtful, “ but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. The pain still felt all too fresh and I just wasn’t ready to face it yet. And the Lost Lagoon has felt like a place of our own to me and it just didn’t feel right coming here without knowing whether or not you’d be there, too. Plus, sneaking out of the castle would’ve been near impossible.”

“It did feel sort of strange being here without you,” Cass replied in a whisper. “Almost like something was, well, missing.”

“But at least we’re here now, together again,” Rapunzel said, and Cass could tell she was trying to bring up the mood. “And the past is in the past, so there’s no point in dwelling on it when we could be making new memories.”

A short moment of silence passed and a sudden realization as to how late it must've gotten struck Cass. 

“As much as I’d love to stay here longer,” Cass said as she climbed to her feet, “we should probably get going. If we leave now, we should be able to get a little rest in before we’re expected to be up.”

Rapunzel nodded, but she didn’t make any move to get up. Finally, she sighed and rose to her feet, a brief wave of melancholy washing over her expression. She followed Cass back to where their clothes were still laying. It didn’t take long for them to change back, though by then shifts had dried some and were more damp than anything. Cass’ thick curls were still rather wet, but Rapunzel’s hair seemed almost completely dry by now.

They talked almost the whole way back, their conversation only ceasing once they were back inside the castle’s walls. They whispered their goodbyes and Rapunzel gave Cass a small kiss, after which they reluctantly parted ways.

Once back in her room, Cass exchanged her clothes for a dry chemise before she climbed into bed. Despite dawn fast-approaching, it didn’t take long for Cass to fall asleep, sweet dreams of the lagoon in place of her usual nightmares.


End file.
